Simply Sinful (Simply Series Book 1)

by Carly Phillips

  With great show and care, he circled her nipple with a generous helping of whipped cream. Her smoldering gaze met his. “Something wrong?” he asked.

  “It’s cold.” Laughter and anticipation lit her voice.

  “Not for long.” He lifted her breast in his hand, savoring the weight, the feel, the warmth, and then he proceeded to devour his dessert until he was tasting beyond cold and sweet, until he was tasting Kayla.

  Unfortunately for him, his plan worked too well. She lost herself in sensation. She moaned aloud; her thighs clenching and unclenching around his. Her hips bucked against him and his coherency vanished. He met her thrusts with unrestrained pumping of his own until he thought he’d come right then.

  Lifting her up, he waited only for her to wrap her legs around his hips, and he took the few steps needed. Together they toppled onto the bed. In between spurts of laughter and the mess of the whipped cream, which she attempted to lick from his lips, they managed to stand again and undress.

  Kane grabbed for his jeans and pulled a condom out of his wallet, realizing on some subconscious level, he’d been prepared for this. He’d made sure his wallet wasn’t empty.

  Shaking off the implications, he joined her on top of the mattress. She lay beneath him, naked and ready. His. He shook his head to clear that thought, but it remained. He pushed a strand of hair off her cheek, stuck there thanks to leftover whipped cream.

  “I never realized sex could be fun,” she said, out of breath.

  He’d never laughed while doing it, either. “Sweetheart, you haven’t seen anything yet.” He shifted his weight and slipped his hand between her thighs. She was everything he’d wanted her to be. Warm, slick and, if the sighs greeting his ears were any indication, she was definitely enjoying. He slipped one finger inside her slick heat.

  “Kane?” His name came out on a groan.

  “What?” Closing his eyes against the tension threatening to burst inside him, he eased his finger out and back in, taking up a slow pumping motion.

  “I’d rather you…I mean, we…”

  He knew what she meant. But he wasn’t ready. He wanted more for her than a fast fuck. More memories. He slipped his finger back in once more.

  Suddenly she wrapped her hand around his cock and proceeded to pick up a rhythm, her hand sliding up and down his shaft, moving faster each time, bringing him closer to the brink.

  “Point made,” he said, gripping her wrist.

  She laughed as he grabbed for a condom but she still tried to grasp and hold onto him. He grabbed her wayward hands and yanked them above her head, holding her wrists with one hand. With the other, he eased himself inside her, trying like hell to keep in mind it had been a long time for her.

  Considering how perfect the fit, how intense the emotion she drew from him, this was a first for him as well. Kane held on to rational thought long enough to recognize he’d never felt like this before. Seconds before he climaxed in her arms, he knew he’d never feel like this again.

  * * *

  Kane woke to the sound of rustling clothing. Rolling onto his back, he saw Kayla slipping into her clothes. Last night came back to him in a rush of memory and sensation—because his cock was rock-hard. Despite that he’d slept with her twice, and that the sheets still carried their scent, he wanted her again. Wanted her more than he had the first time.

  One glance and he knew she’d planned on sneaking out before he awoke. Something he’d done himself and only now, being on the receiving end, did he realize how low a maneuver that actually was.

  She was leaving. Because she was sorry for what happened? Embarrassed and couldn’t face him? Or because, God help him, he’d been nothing more to her than a one-night stand?

  He couldn’t take the possibility, and in that fleeting second, he wanted more. “Going somewhere?”

  She glanced up from buttoning her jeans. Her hair fell around her face in easy waves, surrounding guilt-ridden, embarrassed eyes. “I was just…”

  “Leaving?”

  “Getting dressed. I would have woken you.”

  “Bullshit.” He rose from the bed naked and her gaze followed him from across the room.

  She lifted one shoulder. “I thought a clean break would be best. You’re going back to New Hampshire later today anyway, so I figured, this way, no messy goodbyes.” She turned a bright, fake smile his way.

  Instead of reassuring him, that forced grin pissed him off. As fucking stupid as it was, he’d thought they’d shared something special, yet she’d been about to sneak out without a word.

  What was he to her, he wondered. The man who’d slept with her disappeared and the cop he was surfaced as he ran through his agenda and their night together. She hadn’t accepted his date until he’d pressured her into it with the lesson pretense. She’d been so hesitant to be with him until he’d reassured her. Had he been her way of breaking her dry spell? Had she used him like he’d used many women before?

  He knew he was being an ass but she was the only woman who’d ever slipped past his walls. No one had ever gotten that close before. If anything would kill the edge Reid was so worried about him keeping, the one that kept him alert and alive, she was it.

  And now he was pissed at both himself and at her.

  Kane drew a deep breath. It didn’t matter why he’d come into her life. The fact remained that he had, and in the process, he’d compromised himself, his principles, his case, and his job. Not bad for a night’s work, McDermott.

  The same part of him that wanted to kick himself for getting in too deep also needed to know. Could it all have been one-sided?

  What was he to her? The question resurfaced along with the reason he was supposed to have gone out with her. Find out if her business was a front.

  He’d been a quick fuck for her. She’d been a job to him. That was the way it had to be.

  He shoved his hand into his pants pockets and fished through his wallet, then turned toward her. “We never agreed on a price, but I’m sure this will cover last night’s…lessons.” Lessons they hadn’t discussed even once.

  Still, she might not think she’d taught him anything. But she had. A very expensive and painful lesson. He tossed the wad of bills onto the bed.

  Don’t take the money. His heart seemed to hammer out the words in rapid beats. Furious with himself, he still needed to see her reaction, needed to know what he’d meant to her.

  She paused mid-pulling the jean jacket onto her shoulders.

  “What…is…that?” she asked, her voice hoarse, her pretty eyes wide in disbelief.

  He shrugged. “Before we went out, you said we’d see how things go before we discuss payment.” He thrust his hand toward the bed where the money lay on the mattress.

  Glaring.

  Harsh.

  Wrong.

  “That’s for services rendered,” he said, wanting to take back the words as soon as they escaped. Before he’d seen the hurt look cross her face.

  Because in his mind, the case had been closed long before he slept with her. He knew she wasn’t a prostitute, knew she had no knowledge of any ring that might exist.

  He’d wanted to find distance from his feelings for Kayla Luck and from the horrified look on her face, he’d accomplished his goal.

  Chapter Four

  Kayla shrugged her jacket on and stared at the money on the bed in disbelief. “Payment.” She forced the words from her dry throat.

  Things had been unbelievable, or so she’d thought. Special, sensual, incredible, fun—she couldn’t come up with enough adjectives to describe how being with Kane had felt. Because he was leaving, she’d decided to slip out before he awoke. No goodbyes, nor forced smiles. No questions, like will I see you again? She’d been foolish enough to hope he’d look her up again on his own, no prompting.

  She turned toward the bed. The money marred the mattress where she’d come close to falling hard. For a stranger. Her stomach cramped, and she was reminded of another morning after. It’s been real
, Kayla. Catch you around sometime. Different man, another notch in some guy’s bedpost. Kane had just been so much better at seducing her into denial before slapping her with reality. Men didn’t want anything real with Kayla Luck. They never had, never would.

  She squared her shoulders and forced a brave front. She refused to let him know how deeply he’d wounded her. “You’re right, we never agreed on payment.”

  Unable to look into those dark eyes, she kept her gaze trained on a point behind him. “I said we’d see how things went…and…” The green bills caught her eye, mocking the instincts she’d trusted as well as her attempt at composure.

  She paused, wanting to slam him, wanting to say last night hadn’t been good enough to accept payment in return. But that wasn’t her nature; though Catherine might have had a choice word or two for a man who’d crossed her, Kayla was different. She bent and grabbed her bag. Perhaps she no longer trusted her judgment in men, but she respected herself enough to be strong until she walked out that door. No man had the right to treat her like a prostitute.

  Straightening, she met Kane’s unreadable gaze. “Know what, McDermott? You and your payment can go to hell.” She didn’t know him well, but she’d learned enough last night to catch a flicker of emotion in his eyes now.

  Relief mixed with regret? She shook her head, realizing she’d been searching for something to hold on to despite his blatant insult. Apparently, she harbored unhealthy illusions. For all his suave charm, Kane McDermott was no better than the rest.

  Gathering her pride and her jacket, she ran for the door.

  Kane didn’t try to stop her.

  * * *

  “No cash exchanged hands last night. Unless you can claim success, McDermott, I’d say case closed.” Reid approached Kane from behind.

  Kane eased back in his chair and forced himself to turn and look his superior in the eye. “She’s clean, boss.”

  “Damn.” Captain Reid crumpled a sheet of paper and slammed it into the trash. “Waste of manpower,” the older man grumbled.

  “Seems like,” Kane agreed.

  “Our informant could be blowing smoke, playing both sides for cash…but the teasers he gave us sounded legit. I really believed some of our politicians were frequenting that place on the down low.” The captain paced the short length of Kane’s desk and back again before coming to a halt. “Any chance things happened before Ms. Luck took over?”

  Kane shook his head. “Doesn’t seem possible. Not without her knowing. She was around during the aunt and uncle’s days; she helped them out once in a while with classes and handled the books. Now she’s running the place herself. If there was anything going on then or now, she’d know.”

  “Any chance she was tipped off, then turned those lovely charms your way?”

  “Hell, no.”

  “Yeah? Then any chance she got to you last night?” Reid pushed on.

  Kane raised an eyebrow. “You mean conned me? Also no. She’s innocent. I’d bet my badge.”

  “Really.” The captain smirked before settling himself on the edge of the metal desk. “Now that’s a first.”

  “What is? I always trust my instincts,” Kane said.

  “But you never put that faith in another human being, especially a lady.” Reid gave him a pointed look. “Until now.” Standing up, he headed for his office.

  Direct hit, Kane thought. He couldn’t avoid the truth any longer. Couldn’t avoid thinking, either, though that was what he’d tried to do since Kayla’s abrupt departure this morning.

  The captain was right. He had put his faith in her, and he’d let down his guard. For one ridiculous moment, he caught a glimpse of a different life than the solitary one he led. He’d been alone so long without a true connection to another person but Kayla had shown him there was more than eating, sleeping, and working. She’d made him feel alive and, foolishly, he’d wanted more. Not that he could have accepted it, considering he was incapable of offering anything substantial in return.

  Money in exchange for sex. That was one hell of an offer he’d made. He snorted in disgust. He’d set out to prove she wasn’t a call girl and had treated her no better than a whore instead. The wounded look in her eyes hit him harder than when he’d been decked with the butt of a gun. Guilt and regret twisted his insides.

  A detective with years of experience questioning suspects, yet he botched the one chance he had with Kayla. In the end, he’d done them both a favor. Interpersonal skills weren’t his thing and now she knew it, too. Besides, she was too good at breaching his defenses, something he couldn’t afford in his line of work. Letting her go hadn’t been easy, but it had been necessary.

  “McDermott.”

  Kane raised his gaze toward Reid’s office. “Yeah, boss?”

  The older man waved a sheaf of papers in the air. “Report filed by tonight. Everything gels, case closed.”

  “Right.”

  “And you look like hell, so get the information uploaded, and remember what I told you—I don’t want to see your sorry ass in here till the middle of next week.”

  Kane opted not to argue. His burning eyes told him he could use the sleep.

  First things first. He powered on his computer. Typing in the facts would force him to relive last night in all but intimate detail.

  He groaned. Those intimate details might not make it into his report, but they were forever etched in his brain. He and Kayla had warmed each other up, and hot chocolate had nothing to do with the heat in the hotel room. Her full body meshed perfectly into his, her slick wetness made for an easy glide home.

  Home? He slammed his fists onto the keys. What the hell was he thinking? She’d been a one-night stand, and he should be glad she’d walked out first, pleased he’d ended any soft thoughts she might have entertained about her night with Kane McDermott, New Hampshire salesman.

  This whole mess could have been avoided had he listened to his gut. He’d seen too many fellow officers, fellow loners, fail with women. And Kane had one additional strike against him. He didn’t know how to care about anything other than his job.

  His father had bailed when Kane was five. His mother died six years later when she walked in front of a city bus with no thought to the son she left behind. Annie McDermott had a brother who disliked kids as much as he liked booze, but an eleven-year-old Kane had talked the old man into a deal. A place to live, enabling him to avoid foster care, in exchange for Kane’s promise to raise himself and stay out of the drunken man’s way. His uncle upped the ante and mooched his mother’s death benefits from the state. Kane considered it a small price to pay for independence.

  He’d been on his own for longer than he could remember, and he liked it that way. For some reason, the words didn’t bring the comfort they once had. He wished he had something to hit but he began to type instead.

  * * *

  Kayla didn’t want to go home and face a grilling from her sister. After sliding into her Uber outside the hotel, she’d stopped at a coffee shop near Charmed! before deciding to immerse herself in work. Anything to keep busy and not think. She still had boxes of her aunt’s and uncle’s personal things stored in the back and, though her sister had promised to help, today was as good a day as any to start rummaging through them herself. But she doubted even work would take her mind off Kane McDermott.

  Every stretch and pull of her muscles as she walked reminded her of last night. Her body still tingled in places he’d touched. If she blocked out this morning and focused only on the sensual pleasures he’d given, she became aroused once more. Apparently, her body was detached from her mind. Either that or she was losing it. The man had offered her money for sex. No matter how special she found the night, she’d been alone in her feelings. She thought back and mentally kicked herself for not realizing they hadn’t discussed anything about the lessons he’d needed. Apparently his focus had been on taking advantage of her in other ways.

  The burgundy overhang of the brownstone storefront loomed ahead, a
nd she sprinted the rest of the way. She jammed the key into the lock, wondering if the sauna had cooled off. If Kane was as good at fixing equipment as he was at seducing women, it would have. She shook her head hard.

  She had to admit he wasn’t the only one at fault. She’d invested more hopes and dreams in Kane than a one-night stand deserved. He had been an asshole and a cold SOB, yes, but he’d never promised her more than what they’d shared, and that had been spectacular.

  She took one step inside and knew the heat had stopped pumping high. No HVAC repairman necessary, which was about the only thing she could thank Mr. McDermott for.

  Kayla made her way to the back room. Easing the door open, she groped for the light switch on the wall. She never found it.

  Someone grabbed her and jerked her inside. The door behind her slammed shut, closing her in the pitch-black storage room. Before she could react, an arm grabbed her around the neck at the same time a hand clamped over her mouth. She tried to scream and tasted leather.

  The more she struggled the tighter the grip became. Fear rose fast and furious inside her, but she listened to instinct and stilled.

  “Smart lady. Now listen up.” The gruff male voice sounded in her ear, and she caught a whiff of his breath, a revolting mixture of stale liquor and cigarettes. “Where’s the money?”

  She shook her head from side to side. Catching her silent message, he eased the pressure of his hand off her mouth, but the bite of his fingers still stung. “I don’t know…”

  He jerked back on his arm, causing a shot of pain in her throat. “Wrong answer.”

  Kayla had no idea what he was talking about, but he obviously wouldn’t believe her, and she wanted out of there alive and in one piece. “Okay.” The one word came out on a hoarse croak. She forced a painful swallow. “There’s no money on the premises. I…”

  “Kayla?” Catherine’s voice sounded from the outside room. “Are you back there? The light’s on out here and you can’t hide forever. I want details.”